Saturday Mornings
by beanrox
Summary: Kitty reflects on an X-Man tradition as old as the very first X-team.


A little something unexpected. Fluff.

I don't own the X-Men, or anything else in this little ficlet.

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Now, Kitty wasn't quite sure how all of this came about, and she'd been participating in the tradition for years, since that first weekend she'd come to the Institute. And that, the womanly teacher reflected, was something very sad to say about herself. She knew the first five of them - Hank, Warren, Scott, Jean and Bobby - had started it. But then again, they had also started several other traditions -- one of the X-Men-wide favorites of which was the game 'Pin the Tail on the Iceman'. (Power usages were...encouraged with this game.) But this tradition was famous -- and known only to those who had lived at the Institute. There was no secret handshake, and there was no dress code, although yes, you did have to wear shorts -- that was about the only rule, after someone had found out some of the male members of the X-Men slept 'au naturale' and were worried about them scarring the kids. (Though they really needn't have worried, came the wry thought.) Even Logan joined in, on occasion, although that was very rare, even now.

There was one thing Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde was certain about, however -- Scott had started it. Upon knowing about the whole thing, one would have suspected Bobby or Jean of starting it, or maybe Warren or Hank, at a stretch. But no - Scott Summers, Cyclops, a 'stick in the mud', and now a teacher at the school had been the one to begin all of the craziness. Personally, Kitty had thought Jean was mad when she had admitted that little tidbit of information to her, although Scott hadn't denied it when she asked. He had looked a little embarresed, though - it wasn't really very manly, and he knew most of the kids would think he was a wimp if they found out about it. Most of the kids thought he was more of a jack-ass than a wimp. Those who had seen the man in action, either in the Danger Room or on a mission (even through tape or telepathy) knew he was much less a jack ass and much more of a leader -- and a damned good one, she could attest. He'd saved her life, not to mention those of the rest of the X-Men, and the world, more times than was readily beleivable...or than the modest, visor-wearing mutant was comfortable with admitting. He always shifted the honor (but never the blame) onto someone else. It was teamwork, he'd say, or someone else had had to help him out, like Jean or Rogue or even Logan.

It wasn't teamwork, however, that he promoted during Saturday mornings. Not when he and Jean were sitting, snuggled on the loveseat (which was always theirs, much to the dissapointment of some other love-dovey couples over the years) and half of the Institute was sprawled about the floor, the others sitting on the two other couches or some chairs they'd dragged or 'ported in, or dogpiled on each other. Some of them, pretending to be tough and saving face, for whatever that was worth - like Logan - would 'not watch' from the doorways, stairs, and the kitchen, whose door would be open. (To air out the kitchen, of course, not so everyone could hear and sneak peeks when they got up to get their coffee...) Hank and Ororo usually curled up together next to Rogue and Remy (whenever they happened to be together) on one of the couches, Kurt occasionally flopping down and exorting his 'little brother rights' by annoying the hell out of Rogue whilst squishing her with his blue furred body. Then the kids - from the actual 8 year-old kids to the thirty-two year old 'kids-at-heart' - were mashed about the floor, with pillows, covers, and blankets spread and thrown and flopped everywhere. Bobby was usually at the heart of this, as was Kitty herself, dragging Piotr with her - she loved the kids, and the Russian giant had a soft spot for them as well. Bobby did too, although she wasn't quite sure if that was because he was...well, Bobby, or because he just liked them. It didn't matter either way, really, she supposed.

What was the tradition that kept everyone coming back, nearly every Saturday morning? Even when they were into their teens and wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away? Why, it was a television show. Amazingly, it was something everyone could agree on - not Spongebob, not Dora, not anything from MTV or the BBC, or anywhere else that most people would think of. It was on regular cable, too, though nobody really noticed the fuzzy picture or occasional stretch of muffled sound. What were they watching? Well, now, how to describe it...In a word, it was fun. It was something you could giggle at - which Kitty joined in the others doing regularily - and something one could mock light-heartedly...which Wolverine and some others did. Nobody really made fun of it though, even if it was a little kids show.

For Pete's sake, thought the phaser, it was the Teletubbies. Who could really rag on them? She knew Scott even had a little stuffed doll of one of them - the purple one, whatever his name was, Tinky Winky, she thought - in a tutu, on the desk in his office, thanks to a Christmas present one year, decided on by the staff and students to be given to their 'fearless leader' anonymously. Thinking back on the look on Scott's face - you could tell his eyes were about as wide as saucers, even with his ever-present visor on tight - the former Shadowcat giggled, causing some odd looks to be sent her way, as the show had just started and nothing had really happened yet. She shook her head - nothing was wrong, forget about it - and the group en masse turned back to the TV, Piotr's arm tightening slightly around her slight frame in a sweet gesture, early on a Saturday morning.


End file.
